Columbus Exploration Corporation has entered into a memorandum of understanding to acquire organic food company Agricola Nuova Terra Guatemala for more than $6.5m.
Agricola currently offers fresh organic and conventional products to market in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It sells its products under private labels and own brands.
The MOU has been signed with a Guatemala-incorporated entity Omega, which currently owns 100% of the shares of Agricola.
As part of the deal, Columbus Exploration will deliver a bridge loan of between $250,000 and $300,000 to Agricola be used to fund the purchase, installation and initial operations of a pilot organic greenhouse project in Guatemala.
Columbus Exploration president and CEO Peter L. Gianulis said: "The organic food industry has been growing at over 12% per annum over the past 10 years and is anticipated to grow at double digit rates for the foreseeable future.
"This business combination will grant Agricola access to capital markets - to expand internally, and to capitalize on numerous potential acquisition opportunities."
Last year, Agricola manufactured a packaging and processing plant in Guatemala, with a capacity to process more than 20,000,000 pounds of product per annum.
